Thai food is one of the great success stories on the restaurant scene. It’s become so popular that even pubs have dropped their regular grub to go over to Thai cuisine. One of the nicest of the recent Thai additions is Kai Thai Fusion by London Bridge.

The Venue
Although it’s not that far from London Bridge and even nearer to Tower Bridge, Kai Thai Fusion it is tucked away in a side street on the ground floor of what look like office premises. There are a few other pubs and restaurants in the immediate vicinity, although Kai Thai is out on its own in Lafone Street. It is, however, worth seeking out, for the food is exceptional and the rather funky decor has bags of atmosphere, the staff are very pleasant and it’s the sort of place that local residents and business people should be flocking to because all it needs is a few more customers. On Fridays and Saturdays you are advised to book in advance.

The Atmosphere
Strictly speaking the restaurant is not on the ground floor but on a sort of mezzanine level with a few steps up from the street onto a terrace with a table showing the sort of food available. The frontage is all glass. Inside there’s a long bar with high stools against the far wall with the restaurant being a large, open room to the left. Colour is what hits you immediately: orange and green and pink in a nice, light and airy space. The loos have the air of the boudoir about them with their ornate wall decorations. The general atmosphere would be one of a fun place when there are more customers about. It would be a great place for a party of any sort.

The Food
There are several options at Kai Thai Fusion: a wide selection of starters, soups and salads, main courses of stir fried dishes and curries, plus noodle dishes, rice dishes and vegetables. There are also special set-menus on Mondays and Tuesdays at £13 for a starter, a main course and vegetable dish, with another similar one for vegetarians. The lunchtime special offers two courses from a rice-based menu at £5.95 and £7.95, while the noodle-based specials are £6.95 or £8.95.

The starters offer a list of some seventeen delicious snacks: spring rolls, Thai bruschetta, spicy corn cake, Thai dumplings, spare ribs and fish cakes, but you can have several of these in a mixed starter for two (£12.50). This is almost a meal in itself with crispy spring rolls stuffed with vegetables, those deliciously springy fish cakes that are so unlike any other sort, chicken satay on skewers with coriander and a peanut sauce, pork meat balls and toong thong, or money bags, little bags made of rice paper filled with minced chicken and prawns with garlic, pepper and coriander. These are all well flavoured savouries, tasty little items to whet the appetite for the main dishes.

Not only is the food at Kai Thai Fusion delicious but it also looks so appetising. Presentation is of utmost importance and all the garnishes add rich colours to every dish. Pla sarm rod is a deep-fried whole sea bass with chilli sauce. The fish is cooked to perfection with fine and firm white flesh on the inside served in a crisp outer jacket. The whole thing is decorated with slices of chilli and spring onion to make it look even more delicious.

Thai curries are quite unlike any others. There is a delicacy of flavour to them even when they are fiercely hot. The Masaman curries are fairly mild in flavour, cooked in rich gravy with potatoes but have a wonderful delicacy that you seldom get from, say, an Indian or Chinese curry dish. Her it is available with chicken, beef or lamb. The lamb (£8.95) is tender in the extreme and the meat just falls apart at the merest touch of the knife. All in all, it’s a pity that other curries do not have the subtle flavours imparted by the Masaman.

Accompaniments such as rice or noodles are equally well presented, the rice noodles coming sizzling to the table on an iron plate, and again decorated with crisp, chopped vegetables. A dish of mixed vegetables is equally rewarding with crunchy broccoli, beans and onions. Desserts do not loom large here but there are some very good ice creams in such flavours as rum and raisin and pistachio.

The Drink
The main wine list has around three dozen bottles priced from £12.95 for the house wine to £42 for a Meursault Burgundy 2005 in the whites, and £44 for a Nuits-St-Georges 2004, in the reds. The house white wine, a French vin de pays, is good value at £12.95 or £3.50 by the glass. About five wines are available by the glass. There are also a few rose wines, Champagnes and dessert wines. None of the prices for any of these bottles is at all exorbitant.

The Last Word
Kai Thai Fusion certainly deserves to succeed. Its food is top quality, the presentation is excellent, the staff and service extremely efficient, and the atmosphere thoroughly likeable. All it needs is a few more customers to enjoy this fine hospitality.

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